Rank Each State on the Spectrum

[pbrower2a]

Based on the assessment of FreedomHawk :

 

I am not going to distinguish "populist" states from others. Populism as a rule is cyclical, and very weak now (unless one wishes to consider the Tea Party Movement "populist". Most Southern states have latent populism, which explains why Jimmy Carter was able to defeat Gerald Ford with a Democratic Party much more liberal in voting than most of the North and West. To explain how the cycle works, Al Gore and Bill Clinton are from two of the states that you consider 'hardcore conservative. West Virginia used to be very left-wing on economics. The pendulum could swing in those states in the next twenty years.

"Centrist" is white.

Libertarian is more persistent, and it is anti-populist. The paler green is for the more liberal of libertarian states, medium green is for the centrist libertarian states, and dark green is for the conservative libertarian states.

Because blue is associated (Atlas colors) with Republicans and red is associated (Atlas colors) with Democrats, those colors are in use and I associate intensity of liberalism or conservatism with the intensity of hue.

I have made guesses on the three districts of Nebraska. DC is in a class of its own, and NE-03 is the most-decidely right-wing unit of electoral votes in America.

We shall soon change this map based on 2014 elections.  

[pbrower2a]

Here are some of my problems with the characterizations of states (aside from the label "populist". We have states with very different politics in the same category, and not only as style. Not judging close races, I see Ohio and Pennsylvania in the same category. Pennsylvania is on the fringe of being a swing state. It could be the tipping-point state in 2016, but that has yet to happen. Ohio is nearly a tipping state now, and was the tipping-point state in 2004.

But -- Pennsylvania has not voted for a Republican nominee for President since 1988. Ohio has gone with the winner every time. In the gubernatorial race of 2014, Pennsylvania is sure to oust its Republican governor, and Ohio is likely to re-elect its Republican governor by a landslide.

States swing rapidly after politicians overreach without consolidating power to the extent that they cause the losing Party to give up. Colorado and Kansas look like opposite counterparts; Colorado elected Democrats much to the left of the center, and Kansas elected Republicans so far to the right that they offended many Republicans.

   

[pbrower2a]

Just went with the conservative to liberal scale. Did it on the politics of the residents.

30% shade = slightly liberal/conservative
50% shade = solidly liberal/conservative
90% shade = very liberal/conservative

Illinois and Indiana always look so weird next to each other surrounded by swingies and moderates.

Assuming this map is good maybe Kentucky and West Virginia will swing back if an alternative to the Carbon industry starts to flourish there. The same thing goes for Nevada and New Mexico if Republicans can do better with Hispanics.

That is asking a lot. Republicans have lost Hispanics until they abandon the anti-intellectualism that offends middle-class Hispanics who almost as a rule are well-educated. New Mexico is basically gone for the GOP except for an occasional Governor. Nevada? The gambling industry is in some ways the ideal "green" industry.

The GOP lost Mexican-Americans outside of Texas because of the real estate boom and bust that hit Mexican-Americans hard. Those who have been burned are not going to forgive the GOP for their "Opportunity (for economic ruin) Society" for a very long time. Why not Texas? Texas has some of the most stringent regulations of mortgage lending in America.

I can't imagine any high-tech industry being attracted to either Kentucky or West Virginia. Those states just have too little to offer. Even Michigan has more to offer, like better K-12 education (outside of Metro Detroit). For a dump, Detroit has some good high-brow culture... and some comparatively-cheap recreational waterfront. 

The Democrats are going to have to elect a Democrat for Senate in Kentucky or West Virginia to justify the pink. If Udall loses the Senate seat in Colorado, then Colorado goes light-blue and New Mexico goes medium-red.

I have downplayed populism in my assessment because populism is cyclical. "Populist" states swing Left and Right on economics (if little else). There have been times when the South was to the Left of America as a whole in politics -- as in 1976, when Jimmy Carter won all former-Confederate states except Virginia but lost a raft of states in the West and Northeast that few can now think of as "Republican in all but Democratic landslides". 

[pbrower2a]

My assessment:

 

This implies that I ignore "populist" and "libertarian" tendencies. Libertarian tendencies seem fairly stable, but populism is extremely cyclical. For a state like Arkansas or Georgia -- which way is the wind blowing?